Discover Music

February 12, 2008. Posted by David Tallacksen.

Master drummer Roy Haynes - not only one of the most recorded drummers around, but also one of the hippest dressers - was in the studio with Gary Walker this morning. This is a guy who's played with everyone from Lester Young and Sarah Vaughn to Christian McBride and Pat Metheny. So he's got stories to tell, and that he did!

What's going on all!
Welcome to my blog series "DIGGIN' THE CLASSICS"! When new releases in the music world get slow, we all tend to dig into our collections for some vintage pleasure. Join me for my weekly (or whenever I feel like it) quest for soundtrack satisfaction. This is a blog for music lovers! "Walk With Me".
This edition celebrates: A Tribe Called Quest- The Low End Theory (1991)

Tracklisting (Contains Explicit Lyrics):

Excursions

Buggin' Out

Rap Promoter

Butter

Verses From the Abstract

Show Business

Vibes and Stuff

The Infamous Date Rape

Check the Rhime

Everything is Fair

Jazz (We've Got)

Skypager

What?

Scenario

This is one of my all-time favorite hip-hop albums. Arguably the best album by Tribe, this project contained a very "jazzy sound" (East Coast hip-hop was James Brown sample crazy before this). This was a very different vibe from the G-Funk gangsta music made popular by Death Row Records at the time.
While I was going through the credits, I noticed that Ron Carter played the bass on track #5 "Verses from the Abstract". Being that I said this is one of my favorite hip hop albums of all time (and I know every lyric), I never noticed that Q-Tip shouts out Ron Carter at the end of the song...."Thanks a lot Ron Carter; on the bass is my man Ron Carter on the bass..". Hey, what can I say...I was caught up in the music.
As far as "jazz rap" goes, The Low End Theory was the bench mark. Though the album contained mostly samples of jazz music, it was the presentation of the package. From the "abstract/poetic" lyrics of Q-Tip, to the more direct delivery of Phife (in his prime I'd might add), this album is as smooth as butter. At the time of it's release, The Low End Theory was named a "5 mic" classic by The Source Magazine.This release was also responsible for shining a light on the "not yet solo" talents of Busta Rhymes. The song goes down in history as one of hip hop's best "posse cuts."

This album is made classic by it's pure production excellence and it's varied subject matter.Exhibit A, B, C,.....and so on:

February 11, 2008. Posted by Angelika Beener.

Like many of you, I was home last night watching the Grammys. I started not to watch it, because often times it's long, tedious, and not very interesting. At least for someone like me who doesn't listen to a whole lot of mainstream music. But it was a Sunday night, and I was routing for a few albums, and so I thought...why not? I ordered up my dinner and plopped in front of the screen.

As I was watching the red carpet special, the E! host caught up with Herbie Hancock. Herbie mentioned to the host that it had been 43 years since a Jazz album won the overall Best Album category. Well, the Grammys have only been around for 50! That really blew my mind. I then began to really think about that and frankly, it truly bothered me. I knew that the lack of well-rounded programming on the Grammys was always frustrating to me and many others, but Herbie's comment really put it into perspective for me. I mean, think about it...I don't think I've ever just seen a quartet or a quintet just burn out on a Grammy stage. Jazz is always packaged in some cheesy, or watered-down package on mainstream award shows. Bad enough that the Jazz categories don't get televised! Then when they DO show jazz-type performances, they are so "Vaudevilled" out, that it's no wonder that the masses (especially a lot of young folks) don't become necessarily interested in Jazz...the representations are all wrong!

OK, now that I'm done venting, let's talk about some of the highlights for me, and the things I'm very proud of about this year's Grammys.

HERBIE HANCOCK WON THE GRAMMY FOR ALBUM OF THE YEAR!
YES!!!! And well deserved. It was not "stolen" as I've read a couple places in the press this morning. I thought it was so commendable on the behalf of the academy to recognize Herbie in this way. I think the young artists - Winehouse, Kanye and the like, needed that. The music industry at large needed that. They needed to see where so much of their inspiration comes from. And that at 67, Herbie is still a giant among giants. You don't have to check out Maiden Voyage or Empyrean Isles to know just how bad this cat is (though I strongly suggest everyone does). He is always one to be contended with because he remains ahead of his time. And River: The Joni Letters, is just a beautiful album.

I hope that Herbie's high-profile victory will open up the discussion about the importance of Jazz, and spark the programming folks at the Grammy's to consider including more Jazz performances, and exposing the thriving genre to a lot of folks that need to be hipped...and would greatly enjoy appreciate the music.

This is another up-and-coming artist that I'm really excited about. Jaleel Shaw is one of the most talented and interesting young players that has come along in the latest wave of young lions. I first met Jaleel around 2002 - he was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition that year as well. I was completely blown away by this cat. This year, he is a recipient of the ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Award, along with another great young talent, Kendrick Scott.

February 7, 2008

So, here we are more than week into the "I heart jazz" fund drive. (That's my name for it.) It's hard to take stock of where we are with this thing, beyond the dollar figure, which is around halfway to the goal so far.

We take these fund drives seriously because it's true that 50 cents of every dollar comes from our listeners. So, we plan, have meetings, design strategies, employ consultants and generally bust our collective hump (the membership department, mostly) to have a successful drive. To make sure the drive is easier on the ears. To make sure you don't turn your radio off or (worse) turn to another station.

At the risk of over-sharing, I'll tell you that, this time around, we wanted to concentrate on being briefer (or is it more brief) during our breaks. Get in. Drop the message. Give the number. Get back to the jazz. I don't think anyone actually used those words, but that was the idea.

All our fund drives have a life of their own. They are affected by the events that take place around us (Super Bowl. Super Tuesday. Fat Tuesday. Ticker tape parade, even 9/11.). Like most drives, we started this one out watching the clock, then loosened that up a bit and then went back again.

It's caused some testy exchanges, I'll admit. We don't all agree on these matters. All of it was behind the scenes and all a regular part of any fund drive at a public radio station. I'm not convinced that you tune out because our breaks are too long. I think you think our drives are too long.

But, maybe we can put this blog to good use. I know you're reading our posts. We have ways of counting that sort of thing. So, if you're reading this post, do me a favor. Click on the comments link and leave a comment. What turns you off about our fund drives? What might you do differently? (disclaimer: this is me, Cruz, asking this question and it should not be mistaken for an official WBGO inquiry.) - David Cruz